A new Android vulnerability is out in the wild and it’s a nasty one. Quadrooter is a series of vulnerabilities that affect Qualcomm chips, which are in many Android phones. Quadrooter hackers could potentially inject malware through apps it tricks you into installing. That malware can then go deeper into your Android device and root it getting into everything contained therein. Qualcomm has issued some patches for the vulnerabilities but they haven’t all been patched just yet. These vulnerabilities do affect Nexus devices as well but Google has already issued the patches Qualcomm provided.
The important thing to know here is that Quadrooter shouldn’t be an issue if you’re ONLY installing apps from the Google Play Store. The beauty of Android is its open ecosystem allowing you to do what you want with your device. The ugly side of Android is that…well…some people don’t always know what they’re doing with their device. Side loading apps from third-party apps stores or sharing APK files from one person to another is potential trouble.
While Apple gets a lot of grief over their closed ecosystem, for some that closed ecosystem is the best protection they can get. That’s not to say that malware can’t find its way into Apple’s platform, but it is a bit more rare. To be fair though, Android malware is most often spread outside of Google’s official channels and if you’re swimming in those waters…you could get bitten. It is highly suggested you take two precautions with your Android device. First, never install apps that aren’t from the Google Play Store. Second, read all of the permissions that popup before hitting the install button. If you follow basic common sense you will avoid most all of these Android malware scares that popup from time to time.
What do you think of Quadrooter? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
[button link=”http://www.computerworld.com/article/3105052/security/qualcomm-powered-android-devices-plagued-by-four-rooting-flaws.html” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Computerworld[/button]Last Updated on January 23, 2017.
